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State Qualified Bond Program

Like a number of other states, Massachusetts has a state aid intercept program whose goal is to provide more efficient market access for distressed cities, towns and regional school districts that need to borrow by issuing general obligation bonds.

Chapter 44A establishes the State Qualified Bond Act. This law permits cities, towns and regional school districts to issue general obligation bonds payable from state appropriations for Local Aid. The State Treasurer’s Office administers the State Qualified Bond Program, serving as paying agent. The Division of Local Services within the Department of Revenue, working with the State Treasurer’s Office, ensures Local Aid distributions are intercepted to fund the repayment of interest and principal on the outstanding bonds. Each city, town or regional school district must receive authorization to issue State Qualified Bonds by the Municipal Finance Oversight Board which is chaired by the State Auditor.

Given the strength of the program, bonds issued pursuant to it have received high credit ratings. The current ratings are ‘Aa2’ from Moody’s and ‘AA’ from Standard & Poor’s – one rating notch off of the Commonwealth’s own general obligation bond rating.

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Disclaimer

You must read the following information before using this website. Under no circumstances shall the information on this website constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Offers to purchase securities may be made only through a registered broker-dealer and through an Official Statement.

The information contained on this website has been included for general informational purposes only. The information set forth is limited in scope and does not contain all material information concerning the Commonwealth's bonds or notes or the Commonwealth necessary to make an informed investment decision. No person should make an investment decision in reliance on the information contained herein. Each document contained on this website speaks only as of its date. Readers are cautioned not to assume that any information has been updated beyond such date unless a document expressly states that it constitutes an update of a specific portion of a document. Past results do not necessarily forecast future results. Certain financial information and operating data, as well as information regarding certain material developments with respect to the Commonwealth and its securities, may be filed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA).

This website contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the projected results, including without limitation general economic and business conditions, conditions in the financial markets, the financial condition of the Commonwealth and various state agencies and authorities, receipt of federal grants, litigation, arbitration, force majeure events and various other factors that are beyond the control of the Commonwealth and its various agencies and authorities. Because of the inability to predict all factors that may affect future decisions, actions, events or financial circumstances, including, in particular, current adverse global financial market and economic conditions, what actually happens may be different from what is set forth in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are indicated by use of such words as “may,” “will,” “should,” “intends,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “estimates” and others.

Bonds may not be sold, nor may an offer to buy be accepted, prior to the time an Official Statement is delivered in final form. A definitive Official Statement with respect to any bonds will be made available concurrently with their sale. A Preliminary Official Statement for any bonds may be obtained on this website and from the firms listed on the cover of the Preliminary Official Statement.

Any Preliminary Official Statement relating to bonds or notes included on the Consolidated Bond Sale Calendar page is provided only as a matter of convenience. For investment advice on bonds, please contact your investment advisor. No statement found on this website is incorporated by reference in any Official Statement for the bonds and no statement on this website is part of any Official Statement. By choosing to continue and view the information on this website you are acknowledging that you have read and understood and accept the terms of this Disclaimer.

The information on this website is provided “as is.” The Commonwealth does not warrant the accuracy of the materials provided herein, either expressly or impliedly, for any particular purpose and expressly disclaims any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The Commonwealth will not be responsible for any loss or damage that could result from interception by third parties of any information made available to you via this website. Although the information provided to you on this website is obtained or compiled from sources the Commonwealth believes to be reliable, the Commonwealth cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy, validity, timeliness or completeness of any information or data made available to you for any particular purpose. Neither the Commonwealth, nor any third party vendor will be liable or have any responsibility of any kind for any loss or damage that you incur in the event of any failure or interruption of this website, or resulting from the act or omission of any other party involved in making this website or the data contained therein available to you, or from any other cause relating to your access to, inability to access, or use of the website or these materials, whether or not the circumstances giving rise to such cause may have been within the control of the Commonwealth or of any vendor providing software or services support. In no event will the Commonwealth, its affiliates or any such parties be liable to you for any direct, special, indirect, consequential, incidental damages or any other damages of any kind even if the Commonwealth or any other party have been advised of the possibility thereof.

CUSIP is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association. CUSIP data herein is provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC on behalf of The American Bankers Association. The CUSIP numbers are included solely for the convenience of owners of the Bonds. The Commonwealth and the State Treasurer's Office are not responsible for the selection or the correctness of the CUSIP numbers listed herein. CUSIP numbers assigned to securities may be changed during the term of such securities based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the refunding or defeasance of such securities or the use of secondary market financial products.

By clicking on any of the CUSIP numbers provided, you will be leaving the website managed by the Massachusetts State Treasurer's Office and enter external websites. These links are provided as an information service only. The viewer acknowledges that the content of these external websites have not been prepared or developed and are not maintained by or under the control of the State Treasurer's Office.

The State Treasurer's Office does not endorse and makes no representations or warranties as to any of the content, information, products, services or opinions contained on EMMA. The State Treasurer's Office bears no responsibility and shall have no liability for the content of any external websites and the accuracy, completeness, finality, timeliness or relevance of any information on any of the external websites. While EMMA purports to provide real time trading activity, the State Treasurer's Office cannot ensure the accuracy and timeliness of such information. It is the responsibility of the viewer to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other websites.

You must read THIS DISCLAIMER before using this website. Information on this website has been included for general informational purposes only. The information set forth is limited in scope and does not contain all material information concerning the Commonwealth's bonds or notes or the Commonwealth necessary to make an informed investment decision, nor does anything contained on this website constitute an offer to sell securities or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. No person should make an investment decision in reliance on the information contained herein. Information, including any documents, contained on this website speaks only as of its date. Certain information on this website updates specific portions of Commonwealth documents; readers should not assume any other portion of such document has been updated unless expressly provided. Past results do not necessarily forecast future results. Certain financial information and operating data, as well as information regarding certain material developments with respect to the Commonwealth and its securities, may be filed with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA).